


of the RED and the tree

by sala218



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AkaKuro Week, Gen, children imagination is greatest thing you will ever come across tbh, no names, trying to be poetic here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 21:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3744106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sala218/pseuds/sala218
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years in future he will understand why flowers on hill looked so much brighter that summer, why weather was so much better when usually and most importantly why he didn’t find his RED sooner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	of the RED and the tree

**Author's Note:**

> For AkaKuro week day 3 prompt childhood. beta’ed by Arch3rGD. Might be bit confusing, I apologize for that.

He dreamed of that place again.

A tall tree on top of the hill solemnly standing as if watching, protecting village below in valley.

His birth place, his home. Secluded and untouchable to outside world.

There were swings made for him on that tree. So he could glance down together with it. Boys’ parents thought it was just a fun game, to agree with his wishes and ignite his imagination further. His eyes brought life to everything around him after all. But even for his young mind it soon became troublesome and scary thing. Not even other kids understood his game, let alone grownups.

He was alone completely and ultimately so. He was just like that tree. Sometimes he wondered that perhaps that old oak standing atop of beautiful green hill was him all along. Maybe he just sometimes borrowed this child’s body so he could go down to village and see tiny huts bellow become big buildings in various designs and heights.

It was his game that belonged only to him. He was afraid that if he shared it with anyone he will be stared with cold judging eyes that screamed FREACK.

He didn’t mind it himself but it made his parents cheerless. He didn’t want that, not at all. Not ever again.

Then one day after, a really big and extravagant house was built and a new family moved into it. At first many believed the new building to be a summer house for some rich family, but it was merely the start of spring when it would still snow at times, frost would bite your nose, and big gusts of wind threatened to freeze you if you dare to dress lightly.

The boy was sitting on swings, his mother would worry that wind might blow too hard and make him fall down steep cliff, but he knew that tree would protect him, they were one after all.

When car stopped in front of palace like house, he could make out few people stepping out. He was simply too far up to see any details except for one. A most striking feature, it was the color Red.

Days would come and go for boy, waiting to see that color again. His dreams and drawings started to fill with said color, but shade would never turn out well. He would barely go to his swings anymore opting to walk around town, wishing to get at least another glimpse of that miraculous shade of red that’s been haunting him ever since.

About a month later, he gave up. Promise of fiery red was just other thing that his eyes lied to him about, other face thing that was brought to life. Yet other thing that made his parent unhappy.

In that month that he searched for his red, spring won over winter, and after the fierce battle wind got bit gentler, sun shone more often and temperature stayed at plus side. Snow stayed just in memories of all that is alive silently whispering promises of returning.

Defeated, one day, he decided to return to his tree, to his hill where life was slowly returning as well. He was watching cloudless blue sky, the path to that steep hill was already ingrained in his memory, not even grownups knew it as good as he did. Or so his parents would say and he didn’t have reason to doubt them.

But when he finally reached the lonely oak, first he heard the creaking of his swings, even though wind wasn’t strong enough to put such strain on them. And only when he reached it his vision finally filled with just the right shade of RED.

Years in future he will understand why flowers on hill looked so much brighter that summer, why weather was so much better when usually and most importantly why he didn’t find his RED sooner.

He was that lonely tree on top of green hill after all, but now there was someone to sway with on swings to gaze down to village. Everything looked so small and not important only they were essential. Their world was made only from that hill, oak and swings. Those days were happiest for them.

1… 2… 6 years passed to fast for their liking, they still didn’t share everything they knew, they still had so much to live through together, but outside world didn’t care. He wished to get back what was his to begin with, he wished RED back outside. Grownups were relentless, they took RED away from him. Never to share

All RED left him was chaste press of lips on his that was too brief for both of their liking and the whisper of a promise. What did that promise meant boy wasn’t sure.

Was it letters?

He got plenty, almost every week, dutifully sending reply back to RED right away.

Was it phone calls?

From the day his parents finally got him one, they started to send less letters, but in turn texted every day. They spoke whenever both of them had free time for hours to no end, about everything and nothing all at same time.

Or was it a promise to visit?

It was nothing but a void filled with apologizes and next times. Both sides knew it was unlikely to happen and didn’t harbor any hope of it happing anytime soon.

But he wasn’t mad, RED’s voice was enough to fill his solitude, it was plenty.

Seasons kept changing at alarming rate, soon outside world would call for him, but he wasn’t afraid of the unseen side of that world, his RED was there waiting patiently. There was but one thing that the boy didn’t want to leave, the lonely oak on top of the green hill, looking down on village as if protecting it from harm. His other piece of his soul, one he could never leave.

However, in night after his graduation, a huge storm took place, it didn’t do a lot of harm to villagers, but old tree on top of hill fell, it’s roots for first time seen sun, and just like that, it granted him permission to leave.

Chains unwound from the boy, whose eyes brought everything to life. He was free.

Although it broke his fragile heart to see old tree fall, he had to bid his farewell to his old self together with it. He was no longer a child of which tree could borrow a body to see the village. The boy did however start the cycle anew by planting a seed before leaving with silent promise of return that would be left empty as the striking green hill at that time.

Years in future he would still dream of his hill and fallen oak, tears streaking down his face and longing smile playing on his lips. And only RED’s soft mumbles of sweet nothings would calm him down back to dream land, where only thing he would see, is a marvelous shade of his beloved red.

He hadn’t returned to village even once, but he knew the seed sprouted and grew into young tree, that will one day support swings on its branch, and will once again watch over the village, that was no longer his to protect.

He was a boy whose eyes brought everything to life, but they only saw red, and it was his new home that he wouldn’t change to nothing. No storm could uproot his love for RED, the only one who accepted his secret game and became irreplaceable part of it.

Till the day they fall.


End file.
